In Honor of Mom C.

Today would have been my MIL’s birthday, so in honor of her I have chosen a recipe that she made every year during the holidays: date pinwheel cookies. These are one of my husband’s three favorite cookies of all time. I am not sure if they edge out brown sugar drops and snickerdoodles, or not, but I think there’s a good chance they top his list.

Personally, when I was first offered a date pinwheel cookie I thought they sounded revolting, because they had, you know, dates in them. I could never understand Fig Newtons, either, when I was younger. But eventually I wised up and actually tasted a date pinwheel cookie, and OMG, they are soooooo good! These are refrigerator slice-and-bake cookies, which means you make them and store them in the refrigerator(or freezer) in rolls, then just slice and bake as needed.

Date Pinwheel Cookies

Crust:

2 cups light brown sugar

3/4 cup solid shortening (part butter)

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 Tbsp. boiling water

1 Tbsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking powder

3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Blend sugar and shortening together and beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Mix eggs in one at a time. Add the baking soda that has been dissolved in water, plus the vanilla. Combine well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture by spoonfuls and combine thoroughly. Form the dough into a flattened disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator for at least half an hour.

Date Filling:

1 1/2 lb. moist pitted dates (get whole dates; the pre-diced kind are usually rolled in sugar before they are packaged, which is not a good thing for this recipe)

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup water

1 cup finely chopped pecans

Dice the dates or cut them up using a washable kitchen scissors. Put the dates, sugar, and water into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir until the mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and cool. Stir in nuts.

To assemble, divide the refrigerated dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into an 11″ x 7″rectangle. Spread one quarter of the filling over each rectangle. Beginning at the wide side of each rectangle, roll the filled dough up, forming a log shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours. When ready to bake, slice into 1/4″ slices and place on lightly greased cookie sheets, about an inch apart. Bake at 400 for approximately 10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Important safety tip: To freeze the unbaked cookie logs, wrap again in foil or freezer paper. They keep for several months and can be sliced straight from the freezer (without thawing) and baked. To keep the dough in a round shape, store the wrapped logs inside of an old paper towel or wrapping paper tube which you have slit lengthwise down the side. This keeps the dough from flattening out on one side as it lays in the refrigerator or freezer.